Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 130,801 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in Ardelyx were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $72,819,000 after buying an additional 767,111 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 344.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 906,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,595,000 after buying an additional 702,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,296,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David M. Mott bought 381,377 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,609,410.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,396,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,114,795.62. This trade represents a 18.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 559,106 shares of company stock valued at $2,327,056 and sold 158,076 shares valued at $777,555. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.09. The stock had a trading volume of 342,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,449,616. The company has a market capitalization of $977.36 million, a PE ratio of -25.53 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.21 and a 1 year high of $8.06.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $74.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The business's revenue was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company's lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.